BIRDS OF PREY 



(327) Elanoides forficatus 



{Linn.) (Lat., a kite, Gr., resemblance; 

 Lat., deeply forked). 



SWALLOW-TAILED KITE. Tail 

 long and deeply forked. Wings long 

 and narrow. Legs short but feet 

 strong. Plumage as shown; head 

 and under parts pure white; back, 

 wings and tail glossy blue-black. 

 Linings of wings white. Immature 

 birds are less lustrous and the wing 

 and tail feathers are tipped with 

 white. L., 24.00; Ex., 50.00; W., 

 16.50; T., 12.00 or more, cleft for 

 half its length; Tar., 1.25. Nest — 

 Of twigs, lined with moss and root- 

 lets; located in the tops of tall trees; 

 three or tour bluish-white eggs, 

 blotched with brown, 1.85 x 1.50. 



Range — Breeds locally from S. 

 Car., Ind., Minn, and Sask. south 

 through Mexico. 



a very few hours, vultures will be cleaning up the remains. 

 The present species can readily be identified from any hawk 

 or eagle at a distance, when in flight, because the tips of the 

 wings are curved upward. 



BLACK VULTURES, which are abundant in our South- 

 ern States, are heavier than the preceding, although they 

 have less expanse of wing; consequently their flight lacks 

 the ease and grace always associated with that of the Turkey 

 Vulture. Its black, naked head and white under surfaces 

 of the wings will readily distinguish it from the latter. Both 

 species are usually to be found along our southern coasts 

 feeding upon dead fish that are cast upon the shore. They 

 are also often seen even in the streets of some southern cities, 

 where they perform the offices of the garbage collectors of 

 northern cities. 



Family BUTEONIDJ];. Kites, Hawks, Eagles, etc. 



SWALLOW-TAILED KITES inhabit the warmer por- 

 tions of America, in the United States chiefly along the south- 



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